1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed generally to an apparatus for cleaning a wheelchair wheel and/or tire. The present invention is directed more specifically to a universal and adjustable apparatus suitable for cleaning a wheelchair wheel and/or tire during use.
2. Background Art
Although most to all manually powered wheelchairs are equipped with hand rims to provide hand grips such that their wheels can be manually rotated to provide mobility to their users, experienced wheelchair users tend to gravitate towards engaging the wheels directly as the combination of hand rims and tires provides a larger total surface area for grasps. It is imperative then that the wheels be sufficiently clean such that the users' hands can be kept relatively clean. In many cases, the wheels are disposed relatively close to the users' legs or their pants. Dirty wheels or tires cause the users' legs or pants to be soiled easily.
As wheelchairs come in diverse designs, it would not have been obvious to provide a cleaning apparatus that can be adapted to a variety of designs and structures without some level of customization. Applicant discovered that there are two major types of wheelchairs, i.e., one with an axle connecting the two push wheels of the wheelchair and another without an axle, but that is often “foldable” or “collapsible.” The latter type is however constructed from a frame having at least one bar in the vicinity of a wheel that is orientated in a direction parallel to the normal direction of travel of the wheelchair (or at a right angle to the axis of rotation of the push wheels of the wheelchair).
Several cleaning apparatuses have been devised to clean wheelchair wheels. However, these apparatuses are only suitable and configured to be mounted on specific types of wheelchairs. U.S. Pat. No. 4,605,239 to Warfel (hereinafter Warfel) discloses a tire and wheel cleaner for cleaning the wheels of wheelchairs. A mounting bracket is attached to the frame of the wheelchair and holds a support arm in one of several user-selected positions. In one such position, a curved brush attached to the support arm is placed into contact with the large wheel of the wheelchair such that the wheel is cleaned as the wheelchair moves along. This disclosure shows a cleaner which can be mounted with minimal hardware to a wheelchair. The mounting location of the cleaner, however, is less than ideal as the debris dislodged by the cleaner may be reacquired or fail to fall off from the cleaner.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,857,238 to Jmill (hereinafter Jmill) discloses a cleaning device assembly for vehicle tires, including a disposable cleaning cartridge, a shell, a connecting arm, and means for securing the connecting arm to a vehicle. The cleaning cartridge fits snugly over a vehicle tire, and is adjustable to accommodate tires of various widths. The cartridge includes a bristle brush or sponge liner for removing debris from a tire, and is secured to the shell with an adhesive or other means. The shell is adjustable relative to the connecting arm, which is further adjustable relative to the vehicle on which the cleaning device is mounted. This disclosure shows a cleaning device using one or two adjustable arms to secure a cleaning head (shell with cleaning cartridge). As ball/socket joints are used in such device, such device is not sufficiently sturdy if it is adopted to be used on a wheelchair even with lockable ball/socket joints.
German Pat. No. 20306522 to Veltinger (hereinafter Veltinger) discloses a tire cleaning device for wheelchairs, each cleaning device comprising a bristle area attached to a clamping element. This disclosure shows the use of a conveniently located brush. However, the device may not be adapted to wheelchairs with frames not suitable for the clamping element. Further, the bristle area is not sufficiently adjustable to conform to tires of various shapes and sizes.
Dutch Pat. No. 1019720 to Schaaper et al. (hereinafter Schaaper) discloses a machine for cleaning tires of wheelchair that is attached to a chair frame and has rotating brush driven via chain or belt by a friction wheel. The rotating brush is driven, via a chain or belt, by a drive wheel. The drive wheel is in friction contact with the wheelchair tire. The brush and drive wheel are mounted on a block shrouded by a splash board. The assembly is linked by a system of rods to a clamp. The assembly can be hinged onto the tire using a short handle. This disclosure shows a brush that is powered using a drive wheel that comes in contact with a wheelchair tire. As the wheelchair is already manually powered, adding the transmission mechanism of a brush only adds complication and weight to the brush and the required effort of the user of such machine. Additionally, the means by which the brush is mounted and adjusted is limited to a specific type of wheelchair as there lacked provisions for accommodating wheelchair frames of various types and makes.
Thus, there arises a need for a wheelchair tire cleaner which can be adapted to existing wheelchairs of varying and diverse designs.